Maono - PM500 XLR Condenser Microphone

>The cheap condenser mic’s are not great especially without a good preamp and an untreated room Man we sure struggled with a SC400 (like a 50€ mic) and an 2i2 that we had before. In an untreated room. Or I guess we would have, if any of this was true. But since it isn't, [we had no issues](https://youtu.be/a3bMr4dH028?t=16) recording with cheap condenser mics. Much cheaper than an AT2020. We switched to PM500. It's more expensive than AT2020, but I still am going to bet its an electret condenser which is the primary criticism that people give to cheap condensers: they're not "true condensers". Nevertheless, we get [great results](https://youtu.be/33uUl-PpxVg?t=286). This time the audio interface was UMC404HD. So if you can't get good results with a cheap condensers and a cheap interface in an untreated room, I can confidently say that it's a skill issue somewhere down the line. Unless specifically the untreated room really has no furniture at all, because then it'll have a whole lot stronger early and late reflections.

maono and fifine are great value. pd100x or am8 perform pretty similarly. seiren is pretty spartan when it comes to features. hyperX is good but pricey

I vouch for maono/fifine. Gamer brands are overpriced. Just a heads up, if the mic is an XLR jack, you'll be needing an audio interface tho. That I cant say much about it.

Have you watched the reviews/sound tests on YouTube? I'm definitely not the right person to give any advice as I only have experiences with cheap chinese microphones. 😁 But since you said it's just for hobbies, Maono has some great choices to choose from and there are a bunch of reviews on YouTube testing & comparing them out in different condition. You'd definitely want a mic with a gain control if you also play an instrument as mics for singing are usually only good for close-up singing. I personally own two Maonos. 1 for singing up close, 1 for casual instrument playing. I don't have any room treatment or whatsoever but their microphones naturally reduce background noises and I'm not interested to upgrade as I'm not willing to invest that much for a hobby.

Get one with a shock mount if you can. The desk mics will pick up every little bump and nudge when you hit the table kahit very minor. The maonos are great value for the money if you're on a budget.

With that being said, you can basically use any mic and tune it to your hearts content. Blue snowballs are good I’ve heard and I use a maono in the same situation you are. The Maono does me good enough

Maono! May own software.